Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan Habano (Rabbit Hole Founder’s Collection Boxergrail Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey cask aged)
Filler: Nicaraguan Habano
Size: 6 x 52 Toro
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $16.00
My cigars have had 4 months of naked humidor time.
Released May 2023.
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
A very aromatic cigar. Brown sugar, black tea, floral notes, citrus, rye bread, liquor, caramel, hazelnut, cinnamon, espresso, vanilla ice cream, dark chocolate, a scoche of malt, spicy peppers, barnyard, and cedar.
Flavor points have a lot to live up to with that list.
The cigar is crammed like an impacted bowel. No matter. My PerfecDraw comes to my aid. It takes several insertions, and the cigar becomes ready to engage. A huge blast of whiskey comes through the unblocked cigar.
Great start. Loads of aged tobacco thumps my brain pan and loosely attached palate.
Black pepper stands very tall. Creaminess erupts. The whiskey cask influence is not overwhelming or treacly. Sweetness is held in abeyance. This is good. I don’t like sweet cigars. I went through my ACID phase around the beginning of the new Millennium when these cigars were hard to find. I burned out less than 2 years later.
Construction is the immaculate conception. The char line loves me long time.
New flavors to match the aromas: brown sugar, butterscotch, malt, whiskey dissonance, black tea, lavender, herbs galore, citrus, and vanilla.
The Sweet v. Savory balance is immediately betrothed.
Strength is a potent medium/full. (My brain goes into panic mode at half an inch burned).
I was surprised by how good the Diesel Vintage Series was. I found it to be a big step for the Diesel brand. Now this variation on a theme for the Whiskey Row franchise seems to up the brand an additional step. This is sophisticated blending. I’m surprised that I haven’t seen reviews of this cigar. It was released into circulation 4 months ago. By now, someone should have given it a shot.
The flavors emitted from the cask aging are savory rather than sweet.
The cigar is jam up and jelly tight and hence, a slow roll.
I’m surprised as anyone to see a $16 Diesel. AJ was all in on this blend. No fucking around. This is a serious boutique style blend.
Had Amazon Music on The Beach Boys Station. Big mistake for motivation. Switched to Allman Bros Station. Listening to “Going to California.” Led Zep. Much better for Felipe Gonzalez-Gonzalez’s cigar reviewing mood.
The ash hangs on like the bad wife in your first divorce.
Aged tobacco is the key. Complexity and richness depend upon it.
2” burned. 40 minutes.
Creaminess is large. Complex notes dig deeper. Transitions are minimal. The finish is never ending mouthfuls of butterscotch, black pepper, espresso, herbs, soaking wet oak, black tea, and now some dark honey.
The ash is impenetrable. My nutsack makes a run for it.
“Stranglehold” Ted Nugent. Crazy motherfucker.
The first debonaire sweet spot arrives in a wheelbarrow driven by a company of well-armed ferrets. I believe that as you get older, you fall back on your earliest memories to sustain you. I clearly watched too much Marx Brothers and Monty Python.
The blend jumps the shark at 2-1/2” burned. Intensive care is at hand. Strength is upped to nuclear. The flavor points become de rigueur. A fine set of tattoos splayed across my palate. The whiskey notes are impressive without being all consuming. The balance improves.
If AJ continues on this path with taking Diesel seriously, the laughter will die down.
This is a very strong cigar. I approach the halfway point and I’m unable to get up from my chair.
Flavors fan out. Transitions kick into gear. My hands are shaking. The warmth and richness of this blend is imposing. Seasoned smokers will love this cigar as they float into the white light to say hello to grandpa.
I spent 11 of my 13 years reviewing doing the ‘thirds’ thing. My laziness has pointed me in another direction. I prefer to concentrate on gradual progression.
Super complex. Richness with fatitude.
The black pepper slides to the rear of the bus. Just enough oomph to keep the blend interesting. The aged tobacco is now driving. Supposedly, AJ is using a proprietary method of aging. Whatever that might be, the man knows what he is doing. This cigar ain’t your kid sister’s Diesel.
The halfway point sneaks up on me.
Sips of water sustain and jolt my palate. It flushes out the hidden gems of the cigar.
This ever happen to you? You go somewhere. You are freshly bathed and wearing newly laundered clothes…and you hear, “You stink.” Me too. Some folks are hypersensitive to the pore oozing aromas of cigars.
Cigar band shredding concludes.
This is a great cigar. Instead of incessant rambling on my part, those four words could have been my entire review. Get it? Got it. Good.
No flavor points are dropped as the cigar climbs into its urn.
Absolutely not a cigar for newbies. I am racked with discarded brain cells.
This gorgeous blend finishes out at 2 hours.
If you can withstand the nine steps of interrogation, this cigar is for you.
Sponsor, Small Batch Cigar has these cigars. 10% off with promo code ‘katman.”
RATING: 95
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
